Fair Work Ombudsman
At a glance
- Optus Retailco Pty Limited
- $7,800,000
What happened
Optus Retailco Pty Limited, a subsidiary of Singtel Optus that operates Optus retail stores across Australia, back-paid more than $7.8 million including interest and superannuation to underpaid employees and signed an Enforceable Undertaking with the Fair Work Ombudsman. Singtel Optus self-reported in April 2021 after an internal review. Affected employees were retail consultants and store managers across Australia between January 2014 and March 2020. The underpayments were caused by poor payroll, time and attendance, HR and governance practices, and errors in the Optus Retail Agreement 2013 and the General Retail Industry Awards 2010 and 2020. Failures included not doing annual reconciliations against the award, and not paying retail consultants for work performed before or after their rostered shifts.
What was decided
Optus Retailco entered an EU with the FWO, back-paid more than $7.8 million and agreed to contrition payments. The $7.8 million is remediation, not a civil penalty, although contrition payments are a feature of this EU. Optus agreed to a compliance program under the EU.
What it means for employers
Retailers on enterprise agreements must still run annual reconciliations against the relevant Modern Award, usually the General Retail Industry Award, to confirm no employee is worse off overall. Unpaid work before and after rostered shifts, such as setup and close-down, is a common underpayment pattern. Time and attendance systems must capture actual time on shift.
What it means for employees
Optus retail consultants and store managers who worked between 2014 and 2020 may be owed back-pay, including for work performed before or after rostered shifts. Optus has been contacting affected staff. If you think you may be owed, contact Optus or the FWO on 13 13 94.
Want this applied to your situation?
Reading the decision is free. FairWork Mate goes further — it reads the full case library and applies precedents like this one to your specific facts, citing the cases as it reasons. General information, not a guaranteed outcome or legal advice.
Send your details to Liquid Employment Lawyers
Liquid Employment Lawyers is a paid legal service and our referral partner, not free Fair Work advice. FairWork Mate may receive a referral fee from Liquid Legal. Tell them what has happened and a member of their team will call you back. For free general guidance, use our tools or call the Fair Work Ombudsman on 13 13 94.
Prefer to read first? About Liquid Employment Lawyers · Not sure if you need a lawyer? Read the legal help guides
Want more cases like this?
FairWork Mate tracks Fair Work Ombudsman, Fair Work Commission and Federal Court decisions across Australia. The AI advisor answers plain-English questions grounded on the full corpus — awards cited, industry, penalty amounts and affected employee counts — with a citation to the underlying decision on every answer.
FairWork Mate AI
This is one decision. Pro reads all of them.
Free case pages cite the top 250 decisions. Pro opens the full Fair Work Commission and Federal Court library, cross-references your own situation against it, and cites the decision behind every answer — plus document upload, so it can read your letter or contract line by line. 150 questions a month, cancel anytime.
Renews monthly at A$29.99 until you cancel. By continuing you agree to our Terms.
Get notified on new Fair Work cases
Free email alerts when we publish new underpayment decisions, penalty orders, and workplace law updates.